Romance of Friendships
by Bobokins x3
Summary: This story is about my Naruto OCs.. xD


**What is meant by romance: for something to be romanticized **

_**Def: the colorful world, life, or conditions depicted in such tales.**_

* * *

**Chapter 1: Where It All Began**

A small boy peered around into a dark room where his brother stood, his hair covering his face and his fists clenched. The woman that he called mother was positioned in front of him, yelling at him, telling him that everything he was doing was wrong, and that he should be ashamed of himself. The young boy at the doorway, Hiroki flinched as she swung her hand and slapped his brother's face. Hiroki hid behind the wall, and swiftly ran upstairs into his room; tossing himself onto his bed as he buried his face into the pillow.

Feet tapped closer to Hiroki's doorway, he listened carefully and lifted his head to locate where the sound was coming from. He heard his door creaking open and a hand touch his back; a soft voice spoke, "Hiroki, are you alright?" His father's soothing voice brought a small but noticeable smile to his face, as he nodded and about to speak, the words were lost in his throat; the nature of the question was something the family didn't speak about. The tension between the members stopped this topic from being questioned.

"Dad.." He whispered.

"Yes Hiroki?" His father replied in a gentle, soothing voice. Hiroki clung tighter to his father's shirt.

"Why do we have to do the things we do?" He whispered.

"I don't know Hiro, let's just say that I won't be around much longer to find out."

Hiroki shoved away from him, and stared at his father. Shocked his eyes were locked onto his father's tired face. "W-where are you going?" Hiroki's voice shook, frightened of what his father might say.

"I'm going to a better place, somewhere peaceful," Daichi looked down, and his onyx hair shined as it fell from behind his ear, he couldn't face his son's teary eyes, Hiroki nodded as if he accepted his father's description of passing.

"Promise me you'll stay strong, and show no fear or sadness, if you do, cover it with laughter, or happiness. No matter what," Daichi stood, pushing his silky hair behind his ear again; he tussled Hiroki's hair gently and scuffed his feet as he walked out of the room.

Holding his hand to his chest, Hiroki promised himself, "I will not be weak," and gave a feeble yet convincing smile.

* * *

Meanwhile, his brother Masahiko only three years older than Hiroki; wiped his mouth where his mother had slapped him. Their mother Izanami was very strict in the way that she taught her children, especially the eldest of the three. She believed that the person will always perform better under strict punishment and harsh consequences, and that their reward is the outcome of their training.

In another village, Hidden in the Mist, a boy around the same youthful age was overhearing a discussion his parents were having. The conversation was surely about him, because that was all they ever talked about; but unfortunately, not in a good way. Tsuko was the boy's name; a rather forgotten atmosphere loomed with his presence, even though his personality was exceptionally warm-hearted. Only 10-years-old and his parents were constantly debating about how they should deal with his tomfoolery. His parents had deeply religious spirits, their every action was based on what was right to the gods; they also were very superstitious.

Overhearing their conversation about him, he knew that this was the final conversation. That this was the day he was really going to be given up by his own parents. Not sure how to react, he tiptoed into the kitchen and grabbed the carton of milk from the fridge, as he drank from it, his father approached him from behind, placing his hand on Tsuko's shoulder. Tsuko pulled the milk carton away and wiped the milk-moustache off his face.

"Tsuko..." His father, Hiroshi spoke quietly. "Your mother and I have decided something about you."

"W-what is it?" Tsuko mumbled as his bottom lip quivered. Surely his parents weren't going to do this?... Hiroshi's stern eyes focused on his son's anxious face.

"We've decided that you are to going to live with a new family, in Konoha," He lectured. "They will be very responsible people, and you will love it there."

Tsuko open his mouth to protest, but instead held back the words and felt a slight tear emerges in his eye as he nodded his head in agreement. When Hiroshi had left the room, Tsuko began to sob more heavily; he did not want to live with a different family, even though his parents were constantly trying to expose the 'demon' within him, though none of these attempts had been successful because he is not any type of supernatural being, his parents refused to believe it.

* * *

A small village that dwelled just outside the Hidden Leaf, a clan ran the borough. The clan leader Kyou, had been a very meticulous father because he wanted his children to learn speedily and fitly exercise the abilities that he taught them. His two young children, only a two year age gap among them, both the girl, her name Shina and her brother Tensei were marking time down after a long day of home teaching, even though today was supposed to be their break from school. Shina, the younger of the two sat quietly with her feet under the table in the living room. Again, she was having trouble focusing her chakra.

Her father tried all that he could to help her get better with her chakra, but his son was the pride of their family. Kyou, being the leader of the clan, had to train his son to work harder, but the boy didn't want to become the clan leader. Tensei being the simple soul that he is didn't want the stress on his back. Tensei ran upstairs into his bedroom and slipped some money that he had robbed from his father's bedside table, into his bag that he had been slowly packing for several months. A boy of only 11, running away?... Surely not.

Tensei was clueless about where his destination was or what he was going to do, but he knew anything would be better than becoming the bossy leader of a tiny village. Grabbing his small backpack full of items that he had conjured together, he turned to the door but a small silhouette blocked his path.

"Tensei, where are you going?" She murmured to her brother.

He placed his hand on her head, and stroked her white, fluffy hair. Without saying a word, he placed his hand over Shina's mouth and hushed her. She knew not to tell her parents no matter how upset she was. Tensei continued out the door, and when out of the house he jumped on a carriage and hoped it would take him far away from all his responsibilities.

Shina walked out of her brother's bedroom as her mother, Himiko took her hand and led her to her bedroom. The loving mother tucked Shina into bed and delicately and lovingly pecked her forehead. Himiko bid her daughter goodnight and walked out of the room.

Himiko peered into Tensei's room, when she noticed that it was empty she left the room and walked into the dining room to check where her son had gone. Tensei was nowhere to be seen, Himiko's heart pounded and she ran to her husband who was sitting on their bed. The panic grew louder to Shina, her only reaction was to bury herself farther into the blankets and hide her face while her parents ran around looking for their beloved son.

Tensei stayed put on the carriage all night, sleeping to the rocking movement of the vehicle. The carriage travelled slowly, so this gave Tensei time to think of a plan on what he was going to tell anyone that found him. His head rested on a pile of animal skins that were being transported around the country to be made into cloths and clothing.

A loud 'bang!' woke Tensei from his sleep and he sat up quickly to see what was happening. He parted the curtains and poked his head out, the sun shone onto his face as he placed his hand over his eyes, he had noticed that the wagon had stopped and it was about to be unloaded; Tensei quickly leapt out onto the sandy ground and wandered into the town centre. He walked until he bumped into a Jounin from the Suna that people knew by the name Ichijou. Ichijou look down at the small figure and slightly tilted his head, his brown, messy hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, and his eyes were as brown and stern as a block of bogwood oak.

"Are you from around here, youngster?" He spoke with a deep raspy voice that almost felt rough to listen to. Tensei fiddled with the edge of his sleeve.

"No, sir," he muttered, looking up at Ichijou, "I just got here, but I've got nowhere to go..." Tensei trailed off in mid-speech.

"Come with me, we'll talk to the Kazekage, and make sure you have somewhere to stay, alright?" Ichijou smiled comfortingly toward him and placed his hand on Tensei's shoulder to guide him.

* * *

At that same moment, another transferral was being made. Tsuko was sitting quietly in the back of the small wagon that was bring driven by his new guardian. Trying to make conversation his _new_ father, Keiichi asked him questions about Tsuko's interests and such, but instead of answering, Tsuko faced his back to him and frowned. Holding back the upset that was slowly brewing up inside of him, although it was not directed at anyone in particular, he just felt that his family shouldn't have given him away for superstitious reasons. Although he was safe and cared for with this new family, Tsuko didn't feel quite right with them.

They pulled up in the Hidden Leaf, Keiichi stepped off the wagon and offered Tsuko help to get down. Tsuko looked at his new found keeper; his face was narrow and his cheekbones sat high on his face, his eyebrows were thickly and matched the colour of his chestnut brown, shoulder length, slicked back hair. His eyes were lovingly open, and his vibe was caring. But Tsuko, wanting to be independent without his parents, pulled his arm away harshly.

"I can do it myself," grumble Tsuko, as he climbed carefully down from the seat; landing on the ground, he stumbled, but quickly caught his balance; stuffing his hands into his pockets, he followed Keiichi to his home. Keiichi opened the squeaky door and threw his jacket aside and slipped off his shoes. Tsuko following his actions he followed Keiichi into the bedroom that will be his. Tsuko dragged his bag into the room and leant it up against the bed.

Keiichi walked in to the bedroom and rested his shoulder against the doorway, "Your father asked me to enrol you in the Ninja Academy here." Keiichi smiled. "I'm sure you'll be a brilliant Shinobi"

Tsuko looked up at him in surprise, "N-ninja Academy?" He questioned, why would he be going to the academy, and why would his father want him to? Tsuko nodded. "Sure, when do I start?"

"Tomorrow," Keiichi replied. "Just make yourself at home Tsuko."

Tsuko nodded and stood up, he brushed past Keiichi's arm and walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. He looked around at the photos that were hanging on the wall, in the photos a beautiful woman stood, smiling beside Keiichi, she held a small child in her arms who only looked to be a few months old, the woman's eyes were narrow and emerald green, highlighted by freckles peppered across her nose.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Keiichi said, and Tsuko turned to him, nodding.

"Who is she?" Tsuko wondered, looking closer at the photograph.

Keiichi sadly looked away. "She was my wife, and my baby. They were both killed when the Nine-Tails attacked." Keiichi scowled. Tsuko stared, not sure how to respond. He listened to Keiichi's detailed stories about his family which seemed endless. For the rest of the day.

Tsuko's first day of the academy began, he'd never attended a Ninja academy before, and this was going to be a very new experience for him. He wasn't the type of person to get nervous, but this felt different. He jumped out of bed and walked down into the kitchen, where Keiichi sat, drinking a coffee for his breakfast, he looked up at Tsuko and shot him a smile.

"Do you need me to take you to school?" Keiichi asked.

Tsuko shook his head, wanting to figure out the way to the school on his own by following other people that were his age. Keiichi waved him goodbye as Tsuko left the house. He wandered down the path that lead down the centre of the village, subtly trailing behind people that looked to be the same age. Two in particular were a little white haired girl and boy that had orange hair and freckles across his nose, the two of them seemed to be 'outcasts' because they didn't talk to any of the other children that were walking the same way.

* * *

A small house near the ninja academy a young boy, with jet black hair and dark blue eyes was making his way out the front door, his younger sister following close behind him.

"Zakuro, Oniisan!" Her little voice cried out as she grasped his sleeve. "Zakuro, I'm going to be a ninja too?" She questioned with hopeful eyes, and a wide smile. "Just like you, right?"

Zakuro looked up at their mother, who was standing at the doorway with them. She knelt down and placed her hand on Kamiki's delicate shoulder. Sorrow in her blue, grey eyes,

"Kami, I do not want you to become a Ninja. You have to understand, you're too fragile, my darling." As her mother told her this, Kamiki's eyes filled with tears and she burst into a downpour of tears. Zakuro was nudged through the door, and made his way to the academy without worrying what his sister was going to do. Although Kamiki had a healthy mind, she was a very naive girl, in her mind, she believed that every person had well in them, and she would never wish to hurt another. Her mother hoped that this was just a phase of her childhood, so that she would not be in danger of getting hurt because of her feelings toward other people.

As Zakuro made it to the academy, he noticed Tsuko and walked up to greet him.

"Hey, let's be friends!" Zakuro said happily and linked arms with the newbie. "You can come hang out with me and my buds."

Tsuko laughed nervously, "Okay, thank you. I'm Tsuko by the way..."

"Zakuro," He chirped and dragged him along to meet his friends in the classroom. Shina and Hiroki sat in the classroom at their table chatting away to each other, as Zakuro appeared, dragging Tsuko along with him. "Guys, this is Tsuko, he's our new friend now."

"Hiya Tsuko!" Hiroki gave a big grin and he greeting Tsuko. Hiroki's face lit up with the biggest smile that Tsuko had ever seen, it was almost literally a smile from ear to ear. "My name's Hiroki." Hiroki patted the seat beside him. Tsuko hesitantly sat beside him, grabbing small glimpses at the small, white haired girl that was sitting beside him. He quickly returned his gaze to the two other boys sitting beside him once he caught a glance of her. She looked over at Tsuko and frowned knowingly that he was looking at her.

The four of them gained a thick friendship that would not soon be broken, they spend most of their time together and as the children grew over the years, and their friendship was bound stronger than the past years. Shina studied exceptionally hard to pass her last year at the ninja academy; her contact with her friends was scarce because of how hard she wanted to train to get better. Whilst she practiced her cloning technique, is slowly but surely grew more successful. This was difficult for her, as the clan was burdened with low levels of chakra. Her father on the other hand, was an exceptional Shinobi and his chakra control was remarkable, but apparently the chakra flow does not run in the bloodline, or at least skips a generation. Her brother was also good at controlling his chakra, but there was no knowledge of his whereabouts.

The four of them had graduated from the academy, Shina passed with her cloning that she'd practiced frenziedly. The girls in the class had grown to find affections for Zakuro, as he had grown more attractive as the years passed him by. _Everyone_ wanted to share a team with him; even one of his _closest_ friends: Shina had diminutive fondness of him. When he spoke to her, she felt as if butterflies had been trapped in her stomach and were frantically trying to break free.

The class sat intently as their sensei called out the names of the teams, finally Shina, Tsuko and Hiroki's names were called out together. Shina looked worryingly at Zakuro after their names were called out without him. Zakuro had been placed in a team with two people that he hardly spoke to.

When the class was dismissed the squads sat around together, getting to know each other, chatting about who their new sensei might be. Tsuko, Shina and Hiroki were already good friends, so it made it less difficult to work together as a team. In the classroom where they waited for their sensei, Shina, Tsuko and Hiroki waited patiently. Tsuko fiddled with a pen that he found on one of the tables, while he waited for the teacher to enter the room.

Finally, a man walked in, he wore cerulean shaded goggles that covered his eyes, as he walked to the middle of the room, and he slid the shades up onto his head where they pushed back his dark brown dreadlocks out of his face. His eyes were a green-blue colour that seemed almost fluorescent. He wore an open flak jacket with black suit underneath which one the sleeve held a clan symbol of sorts.

"Now, all of you be quiet and listen up!" His voice was stern and raspy, and he spoke loudly to get their attention. "My name is Dante Yoshida; and I... of course, am your new sensei."

The three sat in awe at this man that would be their sensei for the rest of their Shinobi days...


End file.
